Discovering the Meteora Mountains – Blog by Alyssa 2015

Discovering the Meteora Mountains and Monasteries

Every once in a while I find myself in a place that gets me wondering, “How in the hell did I end up HERE?!”

It usually happens when I have no plans and leave my travels up to fate. It ESPECIALLY happens when the place I end up was unbeknownst to me til the day I stumble upon it. Hiking up and soaking in the mountains of Meteora gave me this feeling to the fullest!

Call me ignorant but I had never even heard of the monasteries atop Meteora or the surrounding towns of Trikala and Kalampaka. I arrived in Thessaloniki with a week til I was going to meet a friend in Athens and I had no clue what to do in “middle Greece.” Luckily, some locals threw out Meteora (which I googled at lightening speed).

Well, here I sit at the cozy Hostel Meteora… working reception with an awesome fellow Workaway-er, cleaning dorms for room and board for a week, and reflecting on how lucky I am to find myself in such new and beautiful situations.

If you’re a bit interested in visiting these dreamy pinnacles…

the best way to experience them is by staying at Hostel Meteora in Trikala and taking the bus to Kalampaka first thing in the morning. There’s an abundance of cafes, traditional Greek Taverns, shopping, and bars in Trikala – perfect for a night or 2 stay. From here, you can spend a few hours or even a full day hiking up and around, popping into one or all of the 5 monasteries for 3EUR each. Trikala is almost exactly midway between Thessaloniki and Athens, so I highly recommend planning a pitstop if you’re making your way through Greece.

Being in good company and just a 30 minute bus ride from some glorious mountain eye candy, hiking trails, and rock climbing is not a bad gig.